This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Food contamination, food poisoning, and food-borne illnesses caused, for example, by microorganisms (e.g., bacteria such as Campylobacter jejuni, E-coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, etc.), pesticides, etc. are increasing public concerns. There is increasing public awareness of the cumulative health damage caused by the practically unavoidable regular consumption of minute residues of toxic pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, as well as microbiological contaminants. In the United States, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that each year about 70 million people get sick from food poisoning, more than 325,000 people are hospitalized from food poisoning, and about 5,000 die from food borne-illnesses. And recently, the supply chain for fresh produce has been scrutinized following a number of illnesses and deaths caused by produce-sourced food-borne illnesses.